Restorations of companies that have been deregistered for any reason.

We have come across many clients who’s companies or closed corporations (“CC”) have been deregistered with them being blissfully unaware of this fact. Only once the company or CC has to again transact, this fact comes to light.

As a company/CC has to be active, or “in business” as the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission) terms it, the company/CC in question will first have to be re-instated or restored before it can again transact lawfully. This procedure can take anything from 2 (two) months to much longer, given the recent onerous requirements laid down for restorations of companies and CC’s. Due to this unforeseen delay, the Company/CC then also runs the risk of losing the deal or transaction they had.

One of the most common reasons for the deregistration of companies, and one which most directors/shareholders are not even aware of, is annual return non-compliance. There are, however, other reasons too.

In order to change the company’s/CC’s status to “in business” again, the company/CC must follow the restoration procedure. This procedure includes obtaining consent from National Treasury and Public Works as well as advertising the proposed restoration in the local newspaper. Various affidavits also have to be lodged by the directors or members of the company/CC. Should your company/CC have been deregistered due to annual return non-compliance, all outstanding annual returns plus a penalty fee, based on the company’s/CC’s annual turnover for the specific years in question, will have to be paid to the CIPC. Once the restoration procedure has been completed successfully, the company’s/CC’s status will again display as “in business” and it will again be able to transact as before being deregistered.

Should you have any doubts as to whether your company/CC is still an active entity according to the CIPC’s data basis, or should you wish to restore your deregistered company/CC you are welcome to contact us for further details in this respect.
Meyer de Waal (meyer@oostco.co.za) or Samantha Thornhill (samantha@oostco.co.za) Tel: 021 461 0065.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice.

 

Deeds office slows down.

The Deeds Office has slowed down somewhat in the last three weeks due to the public holidays and one short day of early closure before the Easter weekend. The result is that the Deeds Office is 7000 deeds behind schedule.

What can parties do to facilitate a speedier sale? And following on this question is what can parties do to facilitate a quicker registration when the Deeds Office presents deeds for registration?

We have found that transactions where Sellers are organised and have advised the Bank of their intention to cancel their bonds right from the outset of the sale process by giving the mandatory 90 days or three months’ notice, have gone a long way in registering transactions in time.

Secondly, attending to the electrical inspection, beetle inspection, plumbing inspection, gas compliance and, where applicable, electrical fence inspection from the outset of the transaction can be very beneficial to the parties. The reason for this is that if any repairs are required they can be attended to immediately and not when the Deeds Office presents the deeds for registration. Then it may be too late to attend to repairs as one only has 7 days to register once the deeds office are up (ready) for registration and contractors are potentially booked up at that point in time.

Contact Mark Witzmann at mark@oostco.co.za or on 021 461 0065 for further details regarding the above.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice.

 

Sectional title searches prior to listing and selling.

We encounter many sectional transfers where the Seller and the Agent are unsure of the situation regarding exclusive use areas. Sectional title properties can be more complicated than conventional properties.

Exclusive Use Areas are not always shown on Deeds Office printouts and often agents do not perform these vital searches. If you are considering selling a sectional title property and are unsure as to how your exclusive use area is owned, then contact your conveyancer who will attend on the Deeds Office and do a full sectional title search on your property.

The conveyancer will be able to look into further issues too in addition to the exclusive use areas e.g. real right of extension, tie conditions, any consents that are needed etc. This search will also assist the agent who will then know how to write up the deed of sale accordingly.

Contact Mark Witzmann on mark@oostco.co.za or 021 461 0065 for further details.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice.

 

Seller’s prerogative to appoint conveyancer.

It is a Seller’s prerogative to appoint his/her conveyancing attorney to transfer the property sold. Often, however, as with most negotiation it can be agreed that the Purchaser will use their attorney.

This often occurs over the issue of discounting of fees where the Purchaser’s conveyancer will give a discount to the Purchaser for procuring the transfer. However, Sellers must approach this with caution. If a Seller is comfortable with his/her conveyancer do not be lulled into giving away the transfer of your most valuable asset just because a Purchaser is getting a discount.

However, if a Seller is battling to sell and the offer is a decent offer but with the Purchaser using his/her conveyancer as a condition of sale, then the Seller must at least ensure that the Deed of Sale still reads as “the Seller’s conveyancer shall be………” ( and one then inserts the name of the law firm of the Purchaser’s choosing). That way the Purchaser’s nominated conveyancer still represents the Seller as the Seller’s conveyancer in the Deed of Sale. Do not therefore allow the estate agent or buyer to delete the words Seller’s Conveyancer in the Deed of Sale and replace with “Purchaser’s Conveyancer”.

The effect of this is that even though the Seller is using a conveyancer of the Purchaser’s choosing, the Deed of Sale strictly states that the conveyancer is still the Seller’s conveyancer.

Contact Mark Witzmann at mark@oostco.co.za or 021 461 0065 for more information on this topic.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your legal adviser for specific and detailed advice.